Review: Wallflower Blooming by Amy Rivers

Wallflower Blooming

by Amy Rivers

Publisher: Wooden Pants Publishing

Pages: 186

Format: ARC

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  Val Shakely is a list-maker. Daily routine. Check. Calm, quiet (but successful) business. Check. No drama. No excitement. Some might call it boring, but it’s precisely the way Val likes it. She loves her hometown of Cambria, nestled in the mountains of Colorado, and runs a fruitful PR firm. And that’s more than enough for Val. So what if she doesn’t have a social life? Then, her cousin Gwen decides to take on the local political bully, the Mayor, in head-to-head combat for the Mayoral seat and Val takes her company reluctantly, and against her better judgment, into the fray. The minute Val takes on Gwen’s campaign, the safe world that she has carefully constructed begins to unravel. She feels the pressure of the campaign and the personal attacks by Gwen’s opponent. And as if that wasn’t complicated enough, Val finds herself falling in love. Val’s desire to stay on the sidelines is put to the test and she’s forced to reexamine the life she’s built as she trudges toward a new and more exciting future.


Kritters Thoughts:  An election, a PR firm, a set of cousins and a small town in Colorado.  Val and Gwen are cousins and Gwen has had a successful run on city council and has decided that a run for mayor is in her future.  She decides that she needs her cousin and best friend by her side to help her with this big thing.  In the midst of the campaign Val may bump into a guy who may change the course of her life.

I loved the combination in this book of personal and professional storylines.  I liked how it wasn't just a love story and Val had professional ups and downs.  I also loved reading the relationship between Gwen and Val - knowing they were cousins but had that sister relationship hit home with me.  I have a cousin who lives very close and we are so similar it may be crazy, so it is nice to bounce something off someone who may completely agree with me!

This is one of those books that at under 200 pages is a perfect book for a full day at home - especially perfect for a windy fall day when the temperature is dropping and a blanket is close!

I enjoyed this and would love to read more from this author. 


Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from TLC Book Tours.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.